


Lillie's Legacy

by LastNightTookAnL



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Alola, Competitive Pokemon, F/M, Pokemon Sun & Moon, Pokemon Sun & Moon Spoilers, Post-Game, kanto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:03:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9943361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastNightTookAnL/pseuds/LastNightTookAnL
Summary: Just as everything is settling down in Alola, Lillie pledges to take her mother to Kanto to seek help for her self-inflicted illness. Lillie struggles initially with the terms of her decision to leave her friends, but as she develops as a novice Pokemon trainer, she begins to make something of herself. How far will her newfound talents take her, even when facing adversity and betrayal?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lillie knew it would take awhile to qualm her doubts regarding her decision. The future held mixed feelings for her; she was excited to become someone, become a trainer, become _relevant_. But she was afraid at the same time. And it didn't help that she had to leave her friends behind to accomplish this. These thoughts had ravaged her mind throughout the entire cruise, and although she was able to put up a pretty good front, sometimes she couldn't help but sigh and consider that staying in Alola might have been a better decision.

Her front didn't last though, because her mother eventually caught on despite her disabled state.

"Lillie," Lusamine asked, "What's gotten into you dear?" A vicious cough racked her body. She was battling the inconsistent effects of the toxins inside of her, and right now she clearly was not well.

"Mother, you need your rest." Lillie responded gently. "The captain announced that we will reach Vermillion City by tomorrow morning."

Lusamine smiled. "I'm grateful for all of this Lillie. I was a fool for so long, making poor decisions based upon a fantasy. But you didn't answer me. You're clearly troubled by something." Lusamine sat up, and asked "Is it your friends? Do you feel guilt perhaps?"

Lillie was silent.

Her mother sighed. "I know how it feels to face the idea of not seeing somebody you care about for a long time. I know you made plenty of close friends and acquaintances back when you were on the run with Cosm- er, Nebby, but remember that they will always support you no matter where you go. They'll come to terms with your decision."

Although Lillie's doubts still lingered, it was nice for her mother to be one to tell her this.

"You're right," Lillie conceded. "I'm overthinking this. We need to focus on moving forward."

Lusamine nodded, laying back down as she was consumed by another vicious coughing fit.

The whole mother-daughter thing was a daily aspect of life that Lillie was still adapting to. She had to admit, it was a little weird running from her mother and hiding behind Professor Kukui for months before finally getting on the road with Sun and Hau and finally helping put an end to her mother's crazed regime.

_Sun. Hau._

She sighed inwardly and laid down in her bed. The cruise ship provided decent enough room quality, and had high class room service to go with it. Their mattresses seemed to totally consume you, which Lillie appreciated considering how exhausted she had been ever since the all-night party on Melemele Island commemorating the inauguration of Alola's first champio-

She again sighed inwardly. She decided to just try and sleep her thoughts off. Tomorrow was going to be a long day anyway.

 

                     ~~~~~~~~~~

 

There was just enough time to pack up and eat breakfast before the cruise ship arrived in Vermillion Port. Lillie thought she might have to help her mother walk, but Lusamine was feeling better than the previous night and was able to compose herself and, at the very least, support her own weight for the day.

They exited the ship and walked onto the docks below. Lillie took a moment to let everything sink in. She was finally in mainland Kanto. She finally had the opportunity to become somebody she had been longing for ever since that night Sun had saved helpless Nebby on the swaying bridge. This moment was huge for her.

"Sampson Oak said he contacted his cousin that we were coming." Lillie informed her mother. "But I'm not sure where we should go."

"Professor Oak is a renowned scientist in this region." Lusamine hoarsely responded. "I've dealt with him once before on a business deal years back. I imagine he sent an aide to assist us."

A cheery voice sounded behind them.

"Right you are!"

Lillie turned to see a young man with dark hair and a large pair of glasses standing with a hand raised in greeting. Although his skin was slightly more tanned than the average person around them, he was still strikingly white compared to the Alolan natives Lillie had met back home. It reminder her of Sun, who she and Hau used to always joke with about how white he was before he would jokingly counter that Lillie was even whiter despite being native to Alola. Good memories.

_Good memories? Wasn't this only days ago?_

Lillie mentally slapped herself. She was losing focus again.

Professor Oak's aide wore casual Summertime clothing other than the white lab coat draped around him that made him stand out from the rest of the crowd.

"You must be Miss Lillie and Miss Lusamine. Professor Oak sent me to help you, just as you mentioned. He really is a courteous professor." he remarked with a gleeful expression. "My name is Sam! Do you need anything before we head to Bill's lab?"

Lillie couldn't wait to explore Kanto and see everything she could, but she knew where her priorities lay. Her mother was not in good shape, and getting her to wherever Bill's house is was at the top of the list.

"We appreciate the offer," Lillie said, "But if it's alright, we'd like to visit Bill right away. Does he know we're coming?"

Sam adjusted his glasses and replied, "The professor notified him that the head of the Aether Foundation required his assistance. I'm sure will be ready for you."

Lillie nodded. She was delighted to hear that Bill was willing to help them on a rather short notice.

"The underground tunnel is just north of here on Route 6. It's not too long of a walk." Sam gestured for them to follow him.

"What I wouldn't give for a ride pager right now," Lusamine grumbled.

Lillie nodded her head in agreement. Living in Alola made her accustomed to being able to call upon a ride Pokemon at any time to take you where you needed to go. It was easy to take such a convenient service for granted. In Kanto, however, the traditional method of traveling was all one had at their disposal: you either owned a Pokemon to fly or swim you around, or you went places on foot. And Lillie had no Pokemon.

_Yet._

As they walked through the street toward Route 6, Lillie got a good look at Vermillion City. It wasn't too large, and it seemed to be still undergoing construction in some areas. A large rectangular building was built on the edge of the water near the docks, and it reminded Lillie of something she had read in a book once or twice. She couldn't quite put her finger on it though.

Regardless, she enjoyed sightseeing like this. It was only not too long ago, after all, that she had gone out of hiding with the Professor back on Melemele to see the other three islands of Alola. She had seen so much, and the excitement she drew from exploring places like Exeggutor Island had continued to grow in her as she traveled with Sun and Hau. This made the idea of seeing an entire new region that much more appealing to her.

"We'll have to be careful of wild Pokemon," Sam commented as they entered Route 6. "They aren't too terribly strong around here, but sometimes wild Mankey and stray Magnemite can catch you off guard."

Lusamine seemed indifferent to his warnings, despite her not actually bringing any Pokemon with her to Kanto. Lillie was initially confused with this decision, but her mother explained that she would likely be in poor medical condition for an extended period of time and would not be able to keep up with the stimulus her Pokemon required. Wicke would do a much better job tending to them back at Aether, like she had done the past few years when Lusamine had begun to lose her mind over her experiments.

Lillie, on the other hand, was having similar feelings to how she initially felt on the cruise ship: apprehension preceded by curiosity. These were Pokemon Sam brushed off as common and irrelevant that Lillie had never seen before. She knew what a Magnemite looked like, as they were native to some parts of Alola, but what on earth was a Mankey? She probably read about it somewhere as a younger kid when her mother had her and Gladion memorize the first 151 Pokemon in the Pokedex forwards and backwards. She couldn't recall most of those Pokemon though, except for a few of her favorites like Ponyta and Clefairy. Lillie simply viewed this as an opportunity to discover more she didn't know.

After a bit of walking, they would, in fact, run into a Pokemon. But instead of a Mankey like Lillie had slightly hoped to see, it was instead a Ratatta.

Lillie was initially taken aback by its unusual purple coloration, and she was closer than she'd like to admit to yelling "Shiny!". She only caught herself when she noticed this particular Rattata didn't have a spiked tail or whiskers like the Rattata she was used to seeing. She was about to inquire what it was when her mother spoke up first.

"Ah, a Kantoean Rattata!" she exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as a medically ill person can have. "I have only ever seen pictures."

The Rattata bared its front teeth and her, and snarled. Lillie was ready to run, but Sam calmly removed a Pokeball from his belt and called upon a Charizard. The lizard Pokemon swiped at the Rattata with an outstretched claw and the Rattata was sent stumbling back into the brush where it did not bother reemerging. This casual disposal of a wild Pokemon was something she had seen Sun and even occasionally Hau do on a daily basis, but it still excited her to see in front of her eyes. And a Charizard! She had only seen them be used as a ride Pokemon, never in combat.

Sam laughed. "Madame, you'll wish those pictures is all you'd have to see of these little guys before too long. They're literally _everywhere_. We had a pandemic of Rattata and Raticate in the old Pokemon Mansion on Cinnibar Island in Southern Kanto. Plans to make it into a museum had to be postponed in order to fix the problem, but it never happened."

"Why not?" Lillie asked.

"A volcano consumed the entire island," Sam cheerfully replied.

"Oh... Wow. Rest in peace," Lillie said, just a bit flabbergasted. She hadn't been here for half a day yet and Kanto was already more interesting than working as Professor Kukui's assistant had ever been.

"Fortunately, nobody was hurt or killed in the disaster. Construction has already nearly been completed for an artificial island to replace Cinnabar. They're basing it upon your design Madame." Sam gestured towards Lusamine.

Lusamine beamed a little bit at this. "I thought I recalled Faba mentioning something about that." she commented. "He and Blaine have known each other for awhile."

"Blaine?" Lillie asked.

"He's the gym leader of Cinnabar- oh look!" Sam exclaimed. "We've finally reached the underground tunnel."

Is that what that big building in Vermillion City was? A "gym"? Lillie knew the term was familiar, but she knew next to nothing about it.

While Lillie was lost in thought, Sam had cleared away some of the bushes concealing the entrance to the little house and unlatched the door.

"Yeah, the entrances to the tunnel have been neglected these past couple of years. Ever since around when the Maglev Train in Saffron became popular, people were weary to use this tunnel, especially after the other underground tunnel collapsed."

"Is it safe?" Lillie asked. She did not like the idea of a tunnel collapsing all around her.

"Should be fine," Sam casually replied. "We'd notice it destabilizing before it came down on us."

Lillie hesitated to enter the dark stairway down, but she remembered her priorities and climbed down along with Sam and her mother, who seemed to be indifferent to the concept of the tunnel being unstable.

At the bottom of the stairwell was a very long hallway, atleast a mile or two long, leading north. Lights were placed few and far between, and some either flickered or didn't work altogether. They proceeded down the hallway without a word.

Lusamine finally spoke up.

"If you don't mind my curiosity, why are we taking this route? Wouldn't it be easier to travel through Saffron City?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't go to Saffron very often, but from what I know it isn't an ideal route if you're trying to get to Cerulean City at this time of day. Rush hour can get out of hand."

"So we're under the city right now?" Lillie asked. Sam nodded his head.

"This tunnel used to be a labyrinth that plumbers used to conduct their business, but it was eventually made into a public tunnel for traveling between cities located outside of Saffron."

They eventually reached the end of the hall, which lead them up another flight of stairs and finally to the inside of a building identical to the one they had entered the tunnel from.

The doors opened to reveal themselves at the bottom of a hill.

"This hill is Route 5," Sam informed the two ladies. "There's a Pokemon daycare around here, but it's a little off the main trail. A short walk up this way and we'll be in Cerulean City."

The hike wasn't too exasperating for Lillie, but Lusamine had a bit tougher time with it. They had already walked for a good period of time that day, and she was beginning to lose strength. Fortunately, Sam assessment of a "short walk" was rather accurate, and they were in Cerulean within the hour.

Lillie liked the city a lot. They passed a bike shop advertising bikes from Hoenn which caught Lillie's attention. They also passed various seafood establishments. The smell of food clutched at Lillie's stomach, making her wish she hadn't forgotten to bring a snack from the cruise.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Sam remarked, noticing Lillie's fatigue. "Those places should all start to fill up anytime now though. People here love seafood. But Bill knows we're coming so he likely prepared something for you."

Lillie liked the sound of that. Lusamine wasn't too keen to eat a whole lot, or else she might not be able to hold it down, but regardless she had to eat at some point.

"We're coming up on Route 24," Sam informed them. "We're almost there, don't worry. Nugget bridge is up ahead."

Lillie was prepared to ask what 'nugget bridge' was when they passed a building very similar to the one by the docks in Vermillion City. She got a good look at the front side of it, which displayed a large "GYM" sign.

"Excuse me," Lillie asked, tapping Sam's shoulder. "What is a 'gym leader'? And what even is a 'gym'?"

Sam looked slightly shocked at first, but quickly regained his posture.

"The gym challenge? Don't you have gyms in Alola?" he inquired.

"I mean..." Lillie began, "there's places bodybuilders go to exercise, but Alola doesn't feature any kind of 'gym challenge.'"

Sam was genuinely surprised by this.

"Wow, that's crazy," he said. "I've never heard of a region certified under the Pokemon League not feature a gym challenge."

As they continued to walk towards Bill's house, Sam explained how the gyms worked. Lillie, in return, explained how the Alolan island challenge worked. During their conversation they reached nugget bridge. Sam sighed in what sounded like relief.

"Fortunately there aren't any ruffian trainers hanging out here today," he said. "Kids around our age, some a bit older, will sometimes camp here during the afternoon and challenge anyone to a battle who crosses the bridge. They don't like being turned down, unfortunately." He sighed again. "Cerulean has always had a bit of a gang problem, and although it's never been too major, it's still always been a pain to deal with whenever I visit. On the bright side, everybody around here respects Bill enough to allow him to conduct his research undisturbed, so you shouldn't have to worry about any unprecedented encounters while you're there."

Lillie wrinkled her nose. Gangs and ruffians? It sounded awfully familiar. She could still remember the time she had visited Po Town back on Poni Island. Lusamine simply nodded and walked on, noting the aide's warnings. Lillie guessed this wouldn't bother her mother too much considering Team Skull was one of her biggest clients before the whole Ultraspace calamity.

They walked down the bridge to Route 24. Lillie took a moment to take in the view from the bridge: a flowing river sitting before a large mountain.

"That's Mount Moon," Sam said. "If you want to catch Clefairy or Jigglypuff while simultaneously getting mauled by Zubat and Geodude, that's the place for you."

"Personal experience?" Lusamine asked.

Sam nervously laughed. "Professor Oak values firsthand analysis the most. Field work is a driving force behind his research. Occasionally, it can lead to... Interesting situations."

"His methods are world famous," Lusamine coughed out. "Old fashioned field work cannot be bought or calculated in a lab or with human inquiry. His work is truly an inspiration."

Lillie tuned out the scientific discussion the aide was having with her mother, and instead got lost in thought sightseeing. After a few minutes, they came upon a miniature hill with a staircase leading up to the platform at the top.

"And we've made it," Sam remarked with delight. "That house you can see up on this little hill is Bill's house and laboratory."

When they climbed to the top, Lillie was appalled by the view. The hill wasn't very tall at all, but it was just tall enough to overlook some of the trees to the East to provide a view of the distant ocean.

"What prime real estate!" Lusamine exclaimed in awe.

"Yeah," Sam responded, taking it in as well. "Bill had his lab built out here back when the area wasn't as populated. Now it's become a popular romantic spot to host dates and special occasions. Bill has never minded its publicity."

Lillie nudged her mother towards the house. She could take in the view later, but right now it looked like Lusamine was running on fumes and needed to lay down soon. Walking all day is easier said than done.

They walked over to the door, and Sam knocked twice.

"Come in!" a voice sounded from behind the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bill's house was a surprising clash between a lab and a living room, with only the bathrooms and bedrooms concealed behind closed doors. In the middle of the open space sat two very large cylinders that appeared to be capsules, connected by hundreds of wires and connectors of all colors and sizes. The place was a bit of a mess, but at the same time had an aura of organization to it. Regardless, the casual nature of the laboratory was nothing like the labs back at the Aether Foundation Headquarters.

Tinkering with one of the capsules was a man in his early thirties slightly shorter than Lillie, matching Sam's clothing style of Summertime apparel overshadowed by an contrasting lab coat. Perhaps it was just a scientist fashion thing, Lillie assumed.

He stood up and gauged them for a moment before extending his hand to Lusamine.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Madame President," he said with a smile.

"Please," Lusamine said with a smile. "You can just call me Lusamine."

Bill nodded. "I am sure you are all famished. If you'd like, we can discuss things over dinner."

The group nodded their wholehearted agreement. Bill had prepared a spaghetti dinner for the evening, with more than enough for everyone. Lillie was always one to watch her weight and was never determined to eat too much, but this time she delighted in consuming the abundance of carbs after a full day of walking. Sam didn't hold back either, consuming his first serving in what she would've sworn was a record time before getting more. After everyone had eaten most of their meal, Bill finally spoke up.

"So," he began, gesturing towards Lusamine. "I got a brief report of your situation from Professor Oak. Your illness is confirmed to be the result of a toxin conflicting with your body directly caused by a Pokemon's... I believe he worded it as 'fusing'... with you?"

Lusamine was still rather embarrassed about the whole situation in Ultraspace, so Lillie made sure to pipe up before her mother was forced to respond.

"Yes, that's correct," Lillie replied. "We heard you had experimented with fusion of the Pokemon helix and human helix in the past, and you were a high recommendation to receive information on the subject. If you can do anything at all for my mother, we are happy to pay for it."

"That won't be necessary," Bill politely declined. "I value my research far above money. I still receive weekly checks in the mail as credit from the Box Storage patent anyway, so I am beyond content with my material possessions. I would be more than happy to apply my monetary assets and scientific developments to assist those in need. Especially the head of a world class organization such as yourself."

"We are eternally grateful for your endeavors," Lusamine sweetly said. "I'll give you the details of my experience with the Nihilego when you are ready to begin your analysis."

Bill nodded his head. "I've heard a little bit of Alolan lore, but to think that these 'ultrabeasts' are real is rat her shocking to me." he remarked. "Did you really manage to open a wormhole to their dimension?"

" _If only you knew the circumstances behind the opening of the wormhole_ ," Lillie wanted to say.

Sam had finished filling his stomach by now and excused himself.

"Leaving so soon Sam?" Bill looked up and asked.

"Yeah, sorry man," he replied. "The professor wanted me back by midnight, so I gotta get to flying. I'll give the professor your regards."

He turned to Lillie and Lusamine.

"It was nice meeting y'all!" He waved and then left.

Bill had arranged the guest bedroom for Lillie, while Lusamine would be sleeping in the lab on a bed with an IV and a large machine attached to it. Bill had wanted to run some kind of body fluid test while she slept.

Despite going to bed early, Lillie slept like a rock all night, not waking up until nearly noon. Her legs felt a lot better now that she had slept off her exhaustion. The dinner night the before had really helped too. When she got up, she walked into the main room to find Bill typing something into his computer, with her mother waiting patiently by the medical bed.

"Good morning Lillie," her mother greeted her with a smile.

Lillie smiled back and returned the greeting. She greeted Bill as well, and Bill looked up and paused for a moment before returning the greeting and gesturing for her to follow him outside.

"I'll be right back Madame Lusamine," he said as he rose from his chair.

Lillie followed him outside with a curious expression. Bill lead her back to the side of the house on the hill overlooking Route 24. Before them was a small clearing where several Eevee were jumping around and chasing each other. Lillie was happy to see them have fun, and more so happy that she could actually identify this Kanto Pokemon from her memory. Eevee was a rather popular Pokemon despite its mild rarity across the world, and she had come across it and it's various evolutions in books on multiple occasions.

"I've always had a bunch of Eevees ever since I began my DNA studies," Bill began. "Their DNA has proven to be an anomaly in how through different stimuli it can evolve into multiple different forms. We still aren't sure if we've discovered them all. Decoding the Eevee helix has always been one of my biggest goals as a scientist." He took a moment to beam.

Lillie nodded her head in slight awe. Being a scientist must really be harder than it sounded.

"But enough about my work," he laughed. "I brought you out here because your mother told me you came to Kanto to travel the region. By how she worded it, it sounded like you intend to do so with a Pokemon by your side, correct?"

Now Lillie understood why they were outside. She still couldn't quite believe it, but she managed to get a grip and nod her head. Bill smiled.

"Then it's your lucky day, because this little guy is now yours." Bill added with a grin. He picked up one of the Eevees and brought it over to Lillie. "This guy has been wandering off a lot lately, so I can imagine he'd enjoy growing and journeying with a trainer."

_A trainer._

Lillie had determined herself to become a trainer ever since she made the decision to take her mother to Kanto. When she really thought about it, she had determined this even before then, back on Exeggutor Island when she began to contemplate her own destiny and what she could be capable of. But these pledges she made didn't make this moment any less surreal.

The Eevee stared at her, and she stared back into its brown eyes. Bill was right, she realized: the little guy was ready for action. Desperate for it. Lillie was already in love with it.

"Sooo..." Bill suddenly said, interrupting her moment. "Do you like the look of him?"

"Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, hoping her silence didn't come off as rude. "I think he's incredible."

That gave Bill a big smile. "Then he's yours from now on."

Lillie spent the rest of the day playing with her Eevee and thinking about what tomorrow held for her. When night came, she was wide awake in her thoughts, and only fell asleep when she convinced herself that she needed the energy to begin her journey.

She woke up the next morning with a skip in her step. She spent about twenty minutes in the guest bedroom hyping herself up, and began packing.

After everyone had eaten breakfast, Lillie was finally ready to leave Bill's house.

"Don't worry about me," her mother coughed. "I clearly won't be going anywhere."

"You better not!" Lillie exclaimed. "Seriously. Don't go out places until you've recovered enough to support yourself."

Lusamine nodded and smiled. They hugged one final time. Then Lillie turned to Bill.

"Do what you can for my mother, please," Lillie asked him. "We won't ever forget your kindness."

"Promise me you'll take good care of that Eevee," Bill told her with a grin. "And you've got a deal young lady."

"I promise," Lillie replied with sincere determination. Bill was impressed by her determination in light of being a total novice.

"One more thing," Bill said. He handed her six Pokeballs and a pink medicine bottle.

"Take these Pokeballs and this hyper potion with you in case you need them. You'll want to use one of the Pokeballs on your Eevee friend so." He said pointing at the Eevee from yesterday.

Lillie nodded and grabbed the ball. She lightly tossed it at her Eevee, who stood indifferent to the capturing device flying at it. Lillie was slightly embarrassed that she almost missed her throw, but it connected with Eevee's foot enough to trigger the ball to open and consume the brown creature. Eevee, clearly willing to be captured by its new trainer, didn't struggle and the ball clicked immediately.

The feeling was totally surreal for her.

_I really am a trainer now._

I just caught a Pokemon in a Pokeball. I've seen my friends do it so many times, but now it's me. That's me now.

She thanked Bill again and embraced her mother one final time before heading down the hill. Her time as a B-side character was over. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lillie stood under a tree on Route 24, deep in thought. She had a Pokemon now. She was ready to take on whatever the world threw at her. But she was faced with a question she was having trouble answering:

_Where do I start?_

She started walking back towards Cerulean, hoping to come to stimulate her thought process. She was ready to get started, but she wasn't sure where to go or what to do. Training in the wild was something she could always fall back on if she ran out of options, but if she didn't have some kind of goal, then what was the point?

Lillie had to remind herself that her end goal was to return to Alola with a championship team and...

_Do what? Compete...?_

Lillie pondered this for a moment. She wasn't really sure if the competitive world of Pokemon was for her. She hadn't really thought much of it when she was a bystander, so why should that change now?

 _No_ , she told herself. _I've got a partner now. I'm going to get strong enough to challenge a certain champion. I made a promise to return._

Before she left, Bill had recommended that Lillie consider taking on the gym challenge if she wanted to get stronger. Although dipping into a competitive environment wasn't Lillie's primary focus when she decided to go on a journey, she concluded that it was a necessary arrangement she would make if she wanted to improve as a trainer.

The perfect chance to get started with her training presented itself at that precise moment, as she nearly walked face first into a Spinirak web hanging from a tree.

She squealed and stumbled backwards, losing her footing and tumbling to the ground. She clumsily tried to jump back up as she fumbled for her Eevee's Pokeball in her bag. She grabbed it but she dropped it on the ground in her haste. She cursed and leaned down to grab it, touching the button and finally releasing Eevee from the capsule.

While Lillie had been scrambling on the ground to deploy her Pokemon, the Spinirak had been eyeing her with wide eyes that displayed a curious indifference. It had not moved an inch since she had nearly walked right into it. Lillie couldn't tell whether it thought her clumsy fit was hysterical, or whether it was scared or just didn't care altogether. Not that it mattered much.

"Eevee!" she called. Eevee's ears shot up, and it turned to look at her.

"Use, uh...tackle?" she said, not confident in her limited knowledge of Eevee's movepool.

Fortunately for her, Eevee had tackle in its moveset by default, and dashed forward landing a direct hit on the Spinirak. Aggravated by the unprecedented attack, the spider Pokemon leaped off its web and fired a poison-tipped spike at Eevee, who narrowly sidestepped it.

Lillie recognized the move as poison sting. Poison was the last thing she needed to deal with right now; Bill hadn't given her any antidotes and she was still a good walk from Cerulean City.

"Okay Eevee, use tackle again!" she cried. Her heart was thumping hard thinking about the chance of poison, but she felt such a thrill from the battle. It didn't really matter to her that it was just against a wild bug.

This made her feel alive.

Eevee rushed forward, slamming into the Spinirak again. The spider was not in good shape, but it surprised both Lillie and Eevee when it stuck it prongs into Eevee's side and began absorbing energy from it.

Every bit of excitement Lillie had conjured up a moment ago was now drained from her as quick as Eevee's energy was being drained by the wild spider. She could clearly tell Eevee wasn't enjoying the painful experience, but she felt totally powerless to do anything. She racked her mind for ideas before remembering the Pokeballs Bill had given her.

She grabbed one and gripped it firmly in her hand. She tossed the Pokeball at the Spinirak with what could be described as the girliest of throws, missing by about five feet. If the Spinirak didn't find her ineptitude hysterical back when she fell down, there was no question about it now.

Flustered, she grabbed another and tossed it, this time missing by only inches. She took out one more and threw it right on the money, connecting with the Spinirak and sending it into the ball.

Eevee, now freed from the infestation attack (or was it leech life? Lillie wasn't sure), caught its breath and walked back over to Lillie. Together they watched the ball shake a few times before locking in place, signaling a successful capture.

"Well," she said, breathing heavily. "That could've gone better." Eevee didn't appear to disagree, giving her a weary look before rubbing against Lillie's leg. One of Lillie's biggest fears was that her Pokemon wouldn't like her initially, so it warmed her heart to know she had a partner she could rely on right off the bat. Eevee had listened to her commands with notable precision, which during the battle had given her a sense of power that she had never experienced before.

"Good job Eevee! You did great!" she exclaimed. Lillie couldn't care less that it was just your average wild Pokemon: a milestone is a milestone.

Everyone starts somewhere right?

Lillie took a moment to assess her dirty skirt before going to pick up the two Pokeballs she had thrown off target. They still seemed to work in spite of getting chucked into the ground, so she dusted them off and placed them back in her bag. She picked up the Pokeball that contained her newest companion.

"A bug type, huh..." Lillie said to herself, wrinkling her nose a bit. She was, without question, not a fan of bugs. Perhaps owning one would squash her fear, she supposed. She surely hoped it would.

She pocketed the ball into her bag and continued walking. Her Eevee seemed to prefer traveling the route outside of its ball despite the slight damage it sustained, so Lillie elected to let it walk free. She had seen a few people in the area with Pokemon running wild outside of their balls, so she assumed it was a natural thing people did in this part of the world.

Lillie had hoped to reach nugget bridge without running into anyone, but her hopes were dashed when she locked eyes with a girl around her age who seemed to be out for a jog. Lillie was about to wave and continue walking, but the girl stopped and greeted her in a carefree manner before she could say anything.

"Hi! I'm Nicki." she called out to Lillie, standing a few feet away. She drew a Pokeball from her belt. "I'm warning you, my Poliwag is tougher than it looks!"

Lillie was very confused. Was this girl looking for a battle? This "Nicki" girl noticed Lillie's confusion and questioned her.

"Are you a new trainer or something?" she questioned. "Don't you know that traditionally when two trainer's eyes meet out in the field like this, a battle begins?"

"Yeah, I got my first Pokemon yesterday," Lillie responded with a curt nod. "I'm still learning the basics." Lillie let out a small laugh after this. The girl mirrored it, again displaying her initial carefree attitude.

"Well, now you know," she said with a smile. "You up to battle, miss...?"

"I'm Lillie," replied Lillie. "Nice to meet you. I suppose we can battle, although I've never really faced an actual trainer before..." she trailed off. She glanced down at her Eevee, who was still slightly gassed from being attacked, but regardless appeared full of energy.

Nicki nodded her head slowly. "I work at the gym in Cerulean," she told her. "So I'll go easy on you since this is your first battle. We'll keep it a simple one-on-one."

Nicki grabbed a different ball from her belt and released a yellow duck-looking thing. It had a finely-curved protruding beak and a few black hairs sticking out of its head. Lillie found it incredibly peculiar how this Pokemon clutched its head in its hands like it was having a nightmare in the middle of the day. It's blank and empty expression added to the odd first impression Lillie got of this Pokemon. For a moment she wondered if it was mentally impaired, but she highly doubted it considering this Nicki girl was using it to battle her.

Nicki must've noticed Lillie's slow observation of her companion, because she had to hold back a laugh before explaining what it was.

"This is a Psyduck," she informed Lillie. "Have you never seen one before?"

"I'm not from Kanto," Lillie supplied her, and with a laugh added, "I'm still learning and memorizing all of the Pokemon here."

Nicki adjusted her belt as she put her initial Pokeball she had drawn back into place. Then she grinned.

"Well welcome to Kanto! Best of luck. Psyduck here has only battled once or twice, so we should be pretty even." she said.

Lillie nodded. "Thank you," she replied. 

"Eevee, are you up for our first battle?" She asked as she met Eevee's eyes, which were full of determination. She took it as a profound yes.

"You may have the first move," Nicki conceded. Lillie didn't waste any time.

"Eevee, use tackle!" she called. Eevee sped towards the Psyduck and landed a clean hit, sending the Psyduck staggering backwards.

"That's a lot of damage," Nikki said, seemingly impressed. "Doesn't matter though. Psyduck, use tail whip!"

Lillie expected some sort of assault from the yellow duck, but instead all it did was stand in place and wag its tail in Eevee's direction. If Lillie thought this Pokemon was weird before, this display of battle strategy definitely fit her original description of 'impaired'.

Lillie commanded Eevee to repeat its tackle attack, and Nicki followed suit with Psyduck's tail whip. Lillie was about to call a third tackle to finish the match when Nicki spoke up first.

"Psyduck, use pound!"

Just as Eevee began to accelerate forward for its final blow, the Psyduck forced its fist right into the oncoming Eevee. Eevee was abruptly halted before being sent tumbling backwards. Lillie was in shock. So much for 'impaired' right?

"Tail whip lowers the opponent's defense," Nicki said with a smirk. "When that pound hit, your Eevee had its guard down and took a blow straight to the noggin!" Nicki pumped her fist in the air. She clearly enjoyed being the intellectual here, having applied such a simple but effective strategy to the battle.

"Eevee! Are you alright?" Lillie called. Eevee began to get up, but the blow to the head had it dazed, which was all the time Psyduck required to fire off an easy water gun to blow Eevee back and put an end to the battle.

Lillie went to pick up her fallen Pokemon. Eevee was soaked, and a red mark was beginning to form right on its forehead. Lillie's heart dropped when she saw her partner in such a state, and she fought the urge to panic.

"Hey, good battle," Nicki told her as she walked up. "Don't worry about the little guy, he'll be fine once you take him to the Pokemon center. I'm headed back to Cerulean now, so if you'd like to walk back with me I can explain some basic trainer stuff if you'd like."

"That would be great," Lillie replied. "Thanks!"

"Don't sweat it, it's the obligation of an _experienced_ trainer like myself to show the young novice around," she spouted in a sarcastic tone while flipping her hair. Lillie giggled, catching her sarcasm, and followed her back towards Nugget Bridge.


End file.
